Trap-door.



No. 794,968. PATBNTED JULY 18, 1905. c. w. BALDWIN.

TRAP DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17,1905.

' 4 [Ill/6221'?! 7%, H W L W mm In (En/Mm co mummmmns wamcmnuc UNITED STATES Patented July 18, 1905.

CHARLES WV. BALDWIN, OF COUNCIL GROVE, KANSAS.

TRAP-DOOR- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,968, dated July 18, 1905.

Anolication filed February 17, 1905. Serial N 0. 246,003.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLns WV. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Council Grove, in the county of Morris and State of-Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trap-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for locking, releasing, opening, and holding in open position cellar or trap doors of the style that is built or let into a floor.

The especial objects of my improvements are to provide means having the functions named that can be cheaply manufactured and applied, that will be easy to operate, which will be safe and effective in use, and in which the danger of the person using being struck by any of the operating parts will be reduced to a minimum.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application, Figure 1 is aview in side elevation showing my invention applied to a trap-door, the latter being shown in an open position. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the door open and looking from the inside, parts being broken away to more clearly show the construction; and Fig. 4 is a detail of the door-latch and its attachments, which form a part of my invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, I have shown a section of floor built of boards A on longitudinal timbers a a and cross-pieces a a and with a suitable doorway cut in same, to which a trap-door Bis applied. Hinges b secure one end of the door to the flooring, so that it may open in the usual manner. At the free end of the door and to its under side is secured a catch 6 of well-known form. Near the hinged end of the door and on the under side is secured a projecting bracket 6 through which a hole is formed to permit the passage of a lever C. This lever is a piece of round iron bar or pipe, is bent at 0' and at one end to form a hook 0 and has an iron ball 0 mounted on it and held in place by a set-screw 0*. The hooked end of the lever is secured to the under side of the door near the free end of the latter. It is desirable to have the lever attached at a point equidistant from the sides of the door and at the same time to so arrange it that a person passing through the doorway will not be likely to come in contact with the lever or its counterweight 0; hence the connections shown and the bend c. In general practice trapdoors are placed near a foundation or partition-wall, and it is my intention to so arrange the lever C that the Weighted portion will come next to such Wall, and hence be out of the way.

To engage the catch 5 I pivot on the crosspiece a a latch D, having a hook on its free end. To one side of the latch a contraction spring d is secured, the other end of which is connected with the timber a. To the opposite side of the latch a link d connects a bell-crank 0Z which is pivoted at 0K to the cross-piece a. A rod d is connected with the other arm of said crank and passes upwardly through a suitable opening out in the floor and has its free end bent over, as indicated in Fig. 2.

Constructed as above described and with the weight 0 properly adjusted on the rod C to overbalance the weight of the door the latter may be opened by pushing down on the rod cl, thus releasing the catch 6 from the latch D, and thereby permitting the door to open on its hinges. It will be apparent that the releasing-rod d may be placed at a considerable distance from the catch D, and it can therefore be located close to the wall or at some other point where it could not be accidentally operated.

In order to hold the door open, a bar I) is loosely secured near one edge of the hinged end of the door and provided with a weight on its free end so offset that it will cause the bar to swing outwardly so as to catch on the floor adjacent to the doorway. To release the door, it is only necessary to kick the bar inwardly.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

' 1. The combination with a hinged door provided with a catch, of a lever secured at one end and midway its ends, to said door and provided with an adjustable counterweight, a

latch pivotally mounted in position to engage said door-catch and held under yielding tension, a bell-crank connected with said latch, and a rod connected with said crank, and passing upwardly through the floor to which said door is hinged, whereby depressing said rod, will release said catch.

2. The combination with a hinged door pro- Vided, with a catch, of a weighted lever bent substantially as described and secured at one end to the under side of the door midway its side edges, said lever also secured midway its ends to the under side of said door near the hinged end of the latter, of a latch pivotally mounted in position to engage said catch and held under a yielding tension, a pivoted bellcrank connected with and adapted to operate said latch, a rod connected with and adapted to operate said crank, said rod passing inwardly through the floor, and a bar secured to said door near its hinged end and adapted to hold the door in an open position independently of said lever.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES W. BALDWIN. 

